Insulated container with foot-operated lid

ABSTRACT

A cooler having a foot operated lid. The cooler includes a body, a lid, and a mechanism for opening the lid. The mechanism includes a pedal, the application of force to which causes the lid to move relative to the body. A cooler may also have a plurality of sides and a dry erase board mounted onto at least one of the sides. A cooler may also have a compartment inside at least one of the sides that is accessible by opening a door. A cooler may also include a bin or panel on at least one of the sides that is rotatably attached to at least one of the sides. The opening of the bin or panel allows access to the interior of the cooler without opening the lid.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 60/910,415, filed Apr. 5, 2007, incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Insulated containers, sometimes called “coolers” are quite popular, andare used in numerous activities. Large coolers are often seen at picnicsand other social gatherings, and individual users utilize smallercoolers, such as to transport soup to work or to maintain a beverage ata cooler temperature during a sporting activity.

Typically, the walls of contemporary coolers include hard outer andinner shells, and an insulating central layer. The central layer isusually a product having a high insulation value, or R value, such asexpanded polystyrene or polyurethane.

For most contemporary coolers, the outer and inner layers of theinsulated containers are each formed in separate vacuum, injection, orblow molding machines. Liquid polyurethane is then manually placedbetween the inner and outer layers, and is permitted to expand to fillthe void between the two layers. Alternatively, molded polystyrene foamis manually placed in the void between the two layers. The result is acontainer having smooth, hard, outer and inner surfaces, and aninsulating central core. The outer layer protects the container andcentral core, and provides an attractive surface. The inner layerseparates the central core from the contents of the container, andprovides an impermeable layer so that liquids may be stored in thecontainer.

Other insulated containers may be made to have soft sides. For example,soft-sided coolers may be formed from an insulating material, such ashigh density polyurethane foam, that is surrounded by a flexible fabric,such as vinyl. Such coolers may be produced by covering one or morepieces of insulating material with a flexible material and stitching thepieces or portions of the pieces together so as to form a container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of some embodiments of theinvention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention.This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is notintended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or todelineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to presentsome embodiments of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude tothe more detailed description of some embodiments that are presentedlater.

In accordance with an embodiment, a cooler is provided including a bodyand a lid and a foot-operated opening mechanism. The opening mechanismmay include a pedal, the application of pressure to which causes the lidto open.

In accordance with another embodiment, the outside of a cooler includesa dry erase board. The dry erase board may be, for example, on a body ora lid of the cooler.

In accordance with another embodiment, a cooler includes a body and alid, the body or lid having an openable storage compartment. The storagecompartment may be opened or closed by opening a door.

In accordance with another embodiment, a cooler includes a body, a lid,and an access bin. The access bin may be a panel located on and hingedlyattached to a side of the body. Opening the door allows access into theinterior of the cooler. The door may have side portions extendingperpendicularly from side edges of the panel into the interior of thecooler, to prevent items from falling out of the cooler when the panelis open.

In accordance with another embodiment, the cooler includes a body, alid, and an access panel. The access panel may be a panel hingedlyattached to a side of the cooler, the opening of which allows access tothe interior of the cooler. A membrane may be included thatsubstantially prevents air flow between air interior to the cooler andambient air when the access panel is open.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, inwhich:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a cooler in accordance with anembodiment, the cooler shown in an open configuration;

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the rear of the cooler of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a side perspective view of the cooler of FIG. 1 in a closedconfiguration;

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of the cooler of FIG. 1 showingdetails of an opening mechanism in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 5 shows a side perspective view of a cooler in accordance with asecond embodiment, the cooler shown in an open configuration;

FIG. 6 shows the cooler of FIG. 5 in a closed configuration;

FIG. 7 shows a partial sectional view of the cooler of FIG. 5 takenalong the section lines 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 shows a cooler in accordance with a third embodiment, with thecooler shown in an open configuration;

FIG. 9 shows the cooler of FIG. 8 in a closed configuration;

FIG. 10 shows a partial sectional view of the cooler of FIG. 8 takenalong the section lines 10-10, of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 shows a side perspective view of a cooler in accordance with afourth embodiment;

FIG. 12 shows a front view of two of the coolers of FIG. 11 in a stackedconfiguration.

FIG. 13 shows a side perspective view of a cooler in accordance with afifth embodiment; and

FIG. 14 shows a front view of two of the coolers of FIG. 13 in a stackedconfiguration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, various embodiments of the presentinvention will be described. For purposes of explanation, specificconfigurations and details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments. However, it will also be apparent toone skilled in the art that the present invention may be practicedwithout the specific details. Furthermore, well-known features may beomitted or simplified in order not to obscure the embodiment beingdescribed.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numeralsrepresent like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 shows a cooler10 in accordance with an embodiment. The cooler 10 includes a lid 12 anda body 14. The lid 12 is a rectangular piece of insulating materialenclosed in a hard plastic shell. As shown in FIG. 2, the lid 12 isconnected to the body 14 along an edge by at least one hinge 16. Asshown in FIG. 3, the lid 12 may have features common to coolers such asbeverage holders 18, which are disk-shaped indentations with a diameterslightly larger than the diameter of a common beverage container, or ahand grip 20, which is an indentation in the edge of the lid 12 thatfacilitates gripping the lid 12.

The body 14 of the cooler 10 includes side walls 22, a front wall 24, arear wall 26, and a bottom 28 which each have a rectangular shape andinclude one or more layers of insulating material and a hard outershell. The side walls 22, front wall 24, and rear wall 26 are rigidlyconnected together to surround a storage cavity 30 which has the shapeof a box. In particular, one edge of each side wall 22 is connected toopposite edges of the bottom 28. Each remaining edge of the bottom 28 isconnected to an edge of the front wall 24 and the rear wall 26,respectively. In addition, opposite edges of each side wall 22 are eachconnected to an edge of the front wall 24 and an edge of the rear wall26, respectively. In this manner the side walls 22, front wall 24, rearwall 26, and bottom 28 form a box-like shape, the interior of which isthe storage cavity 30.

The side walls 22 may have features common to coolers such as handles32, a drain hole 34, and a plug 36. For example, the handles 32 may havea ring shape and may be hingedly connected to the side walls 22 on theirexterior, as shown in FIG. 3. The drain hole 34 is a hole fluidlyconnecting the storage cavity 30 to the exterior of the cooler 10 whichis on the opposite side of the side wall 22. The plug 36 is a piece ofmaterial configured to have the same shape as the interior drain hole 34such that insertion of the plug 36 into the drain hole 34 prevents airand fluids from passing through the drain hole 34. In general, drainholes, plugs, handles and other features are well known to those in theart.

The rear wall 26 has a rectangular shape approximately equal to that ofthe front wall 24 and includes a rear channel 40. The rear channel 40 isa recess of the rear wall 26 extending substantially vertically andlocated approximately in the center of the rear wall 26. The rearchannel 40 may also be a passage extending through at least a portion ofthe rear wall 26. Similarly the bottom 28 has a bottom channel 50. Likethe rear channel 40, the bottom channel 50 is a recess of materialextending parallel to the side walls 22, the width of the bottom 28 andis located approximately in the center of the bottom 28. The bottomchannel 50 may also be a passage extending through at least a portion ofthe bottom 28. As shown in FIG. 4, the rear channel 40 and bottomchannel 50 connect at their ends where the rear wall 26 meets the bottom28.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cooler 10 includes an opening mechanism 60. Theopening mechanism 60 includes a pedal 62, a shaft 66, a rod 68, and aplate 70. The pedal 62 is a wedge shaped piece of material having astepping surface 72 and rotatable connections 74. The rotatableconnections 74 connect the front portion of the pedal 62 to the frontwall 24 of the cooler 10. The shaft 66 is a Z-shaped piece of material,such as steel, having a lever 76 and a cam 78 separated by an axle 80.The lever 76 is a portion of the shaft 66 extending approximatelyperpendicularly from the end of the axle 80 and connects to the pedal 62at a location opposite the rotatable connection 74. The end of the lever76 furthest from the axle 80 connects to the pedal 62 on the portion ofthe pedal 62 opposite the rotatable connections 74. Similarly the cam 78is a portion of the shaft 66 extending perpendicularly from the end ofthe axle 80. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the lever 76 and cam 78 extendfrom opposite ends of the axle 80 and in opposite directions. The axle80 may also be secured to the bottom 28 by one or more brackets 82 orother suitable connectors.

The rod 68 is an elongated piece of material, such as steel, rotatablyconnected to the end of the cam furthest from the axle 80, extendingvertically through the rear channel 40, and terminating at a rotatableconnection to the plate 70. The plate 70 is a piece of material such asan elongated steel disk and is rigidly mounted on the underside of thelid 12 of the cooler 10 slightly forward of the hinge 16.

To open the cooler 10 from the closed configuration shown in FIG. 3,downward pressure is applied to the pedal 62, as indicated by the downarrow in FIG. 1. This can be accomplished, for example, by stepping onthe pedal 62. Downward pressure on the pedal 62 causes the pedal 62 torotate about the rotatable connections 74, thereby forcing the lever 76to rotate downwards about the shaft 66. Because the cam 78 extends inthe opposite direction of the lever 76, and because the lever 76 and thecam 78 are rigidly connected to the axle 80, when the lever 76 rotatesdownwards about the shaft 66, the cam 78 simultaneously rotates upwardsabout the shaft 66. As the cam 78 rotates upwards, the cam 78 pushes therod 68 in an upward direction applying pressure on the plate 70. Becausethe plate is mounted to the underside of the lid 12 just forward of thehinge 16, upward pressure on the plate causes the lid to rise asindicated by the upward arrow in FIG. 1 to an open position as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2.

As with many coolers, the cooler 10 may also be opened by grasping thelid 12 at any position forward of the hinge 16 and applying upwardforce.

To close the cooler 10, a user may simply remove pressure from the pedal62 and gravitational forces will cause the lid to fall to the closedposition shown in FIG. 3. However, the cooler 10 may be configured sothat the lid 12 remains in the open position unless some amount of forceis applied to the lid 12 in order to put the lid 12 in a closedposition. As the lid 12 falls or is moved to the closed position, theplate 70 pushes against the rod 68, which pushes against the cam 78causing the cam 78 to rotate downward about the shaft 66. As the cam 78rotates downward about the shaft 66, the lever 76 rotates upward aboutthe shaft 66 causing the pedal 62 to rotate upward about the rotatableconnections 74.

Other foot-operated mechanisms may be incorporated into the cooler 10for use in opening the lid 12. For example, mechanisms used to opengarbage cans or other containers can be incorporated into the cooler 10.Examples of such mechanisms can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,550,U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,323, U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,316, U.S. Pat. No.6,209,744, U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,348, U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,201, U.S. Pat.No. 5,230,525, U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,537, U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,174, U.S.Pat. No. 2,351,597, U.S. Pat. No. 1,828,741, U.S. Pat. No. 1,251,984,and U.K. Pat. App. GB 2323019, as examples.

FIG. 5 shows a cooler 110 in accordance with an embodiment. Like thecooler 10, the cooler 110 may include a lid 112 attached to a body 114by a hinge 116. As shown in FIG. 6, the lid 112 may include commonfeatures such as cup holders 118 and hand grips 130, and the body 114may be formed similarly to the body 14 by having side walls 122, a frontwall 124, a rear wall 126 and a bottom 128 all connected together toform a storage cavity 130, as shown in FIG. 5. In addition, the cooler110 may also include other features such as handles 132, a drain hole134 and a plug 136.

As shown in FIG. 5, the front wall 124 of the cooler 110 includes arecess 140 into which a dry erase board 142, is situated. A dry eraseboard is a panel of material, such as enamel coated steel or porcelainor melamine, having a glossy surface. Suitable materials for the dryerase board include Marsh UR-200-400-00K5/K8 Series sheet materialmanufactured by Marsh Industries, Inc. The recess 140 may be arectangular depression of the front wall 124 whose area occupies asubstantial portion of the area of the exterior of the front wall 124.The recess 140 may have another shape, such as a circle or oval, and maybe located on other exterior faces of the cooler 110, such as the lid112. The dry erase board is mounted inside the recess 140 with a glossysurface facing the exterior of the cooler. The dry erase board 142 maybe mounted chemically with glue, or mounted mechanically with bolts,screws, or other fasteners. Alternatively, the front wall 124 may beconfigured to surround a portion of one or more edges of the dry eraseboard, perhaps by one or more ridges extending from the front wall 124over the exterior surface of the dry erase board 142, so that the frontwall 124 secures the dry erase board 142 in place. The dry erase board142 may also be a smooth area of an exterior face of the cooler 110,such as the front wall 124.

As shown in FIG. 7, the recess 140 of the front wall 124 may have adepth approximately equal to the width of the dry erase board 142. Thisallows the exterior of the front wall 124 to transition smoothly to theexterior surface of the dry erase board. Of course, the dry erase board142 may also be mounted deeper into the front wall 124 of the cooler110, or it may have a surface that protrudes from the front wall 124. Inthe latter case, a recess 140 is not necessary as the dry erase board142 may be mounted directly onto the exterior face of the front wall124.

Because the dry erase board 142 has a glossy surface, it may be writtenon with a marker having removable ink, such as markers produced underthe brand name EXPO, and writing may be erased by wiping the surface ofthe dry erase board 142 with a soft cloth. This allows users of thecooler 110 to use the cooler 110 both for insulating anything stored inthe storage cavity 130 and for writing messages or drawing. For example,if two such coolers 110 are used in a party, one may be marked “BEER”and the other “SODAS.” In this manner, a user does not have to open thecoolers 110 to know their contents.

Other configurations of the cooler 110 are possible. For instance, thecooler 110 may have soft sides by including components made frominsulating material, such as high density polyurethane foam, enclosed ina flexible material such as vinyl. With this configuration, a flexiblematerial for the dry erase board 142 may be used. For example, aflexible plastic sheet or other material, such as that produced underthe brand name OPTI-RITE, may be attached to the side of the cooler 110.Also, other writable surfaces, such as chalk boards, may be used toprovide a writeable surface of the cooler 110.

Other features may be included into the cooler 110 as well. Forinstance, the lid 112 or other part of the cooler 110 may incorporate astructure suitable for storing markers for easy access by users.

FIG. 8 shows a cooler 210 in accordance with an embodiment. Like thecooler 10, the cooler 210 may include a lid 212 attached to a body 214by a hinge 216. As shown in FIG. 9, the lid 212 may include commonfeatures such as cup holders 218 and hand grips 230 and the body 214 maybe formed similarly to the body 14 by having side walls 222, a frontwall 224, a rear wall 226 and a bottom 228 all connected together toform a storage cavity 230, as shown in FIG. 8. In addition, the cooler210 may also include other features such as handles 232, a drain hole234 and a plug 236.

The cooler 210 includes a storage compartment 238 in accordance with anembodiment. The storage compartment 238 includes a door 239, a storagecavity 240, a door compartment 242, a bottom rail 244, and a top rail246. The door 239 is a thin rectangular piece of material, such asplastic, and may include a knob 247, which is a piece of materialprotruding from a surface of the door 239. The door 239 also has abottom 248 and a top 249, which are opposite edges of the door 239. Thestorage cavity 240 may be a rectangular recess in the front wall 224 ofthe cooler 210 and includes a bottom edge 250 and a top edge 252. Toform the storage cavity 240, the front wall 224 is formed with anenclosure. For example, the front wall 224 may have a section where thefront wall 224 is thinner, perhaps by having a thinner layer ofinsulation or a thinner outer shell. The door compartment 242 is arectangular cavity inside the front wall 224 adjacent to and fluidlyconnected with the storage cavity 240. Like the storage cavity 240, thedoor compartment 242 has a bottom edge 260 and top edge 262.

Referring now to FIGS. 9-10, the bottom rail 244 is a channel extendingalong and connecting the bottom edge 250 of the storage cavity 240 andbottom edge 260 of the door compartment 242. Likewise, the top rail 246is a channel extending along and connecting the top edge 252 of thestorage cavity 240 and the top edge 262 of the door compartment 242. Ascan be seen in FIG. 10, the bottom rail 244 has a bottom 266 and the toprail 246 has a top 268, and both the bottom rail 244 and the top rail246 have a width slightly larger than the width of the door 239. Inaccordance with an embodiment, the distance between the bottom 266 andtop 268 is greater than or equal to the distance between the bottom 248and top 249 of the door 239 plus the depth of the bottom rail 244.

In accordance with an embodiment, the bottom rail 244 surrounds thebottom 248 of the door 239 and the top rail 246 surrounds the top 249 ofthe door 239. In this manner, the door 239 is secured to the storagecompartment 238 and may slide along the rails 244, 246 from a closedposition, wherein the door 239 covers the storage cavity 240, to an openposition wherein a substantial portion of the door 239 is located insidethe door compartment 242 and the storage cavity 240 is exposed.

To insert the door 239 into the rails 244, 246, the top 249 of the door239 is inserted fully into the top rail 246. The bottom 248 of the door239 is then brought over and into the bottom rail 244. The storagecompartment may then be used to store items, such as a fishing license,fishing tackle, writing utensils, playing cards, markers such as thosedescribed above, or any item that may fit inside the storage cavity 240.

The storage compartment 238 may also have other configurations. Forexample, the storage cavity may be covered by a door (not shown) that isattached by a hinge to the front wall 224 and is configurable from anopen configuration wherein the storage cavity 240 is exposed to a closedconfiguration, wherein the door covers the storage cavity 240. Ingeneral, any configuration having an openable storage compartment thatcan be integrated into a wall or a lid of a cooler may be used.

FIG. 11 shows a cooler 310 in accordance with an embodiment. Like thecooler 10, the cooler 310 may include a lid 312 and a body 314. As shownin FIG. 11, the lid 312 may include common features such as cup holders318. The body 314 may be formed similarly to the body 14 by having sidewalls 322, a front wall 324, a rear wall (not shown) and a bottom (notshown) all connected together to form a storage cavity 330. In anembodiment, the front wall 324 includes a rectangular hole 331.

The cooler 310 also includes an access bin 332. The access bin 332includes a front panel 334, which may be a rectangular piece ofinsulating material enclosed by plastic and having a size and shapeapproximately equal to the size and shape of the hole 331 in the frontwall 324. In an embodiment, the front panel 334 has a handle 335, whichis recessed into the front panel 334 and provides a grip to pull openthe access bin 332, as further described below. The access bin 332 mayinclude side portions 336, which are panels of material, such asplastic, extending perpendicularly in the same direction from the endsof the front panel 336. In an embodiment, the side portions 336 aresemicircularly shaped with a curved edge oriented upwards, althoughother suitable shapes may be used. The side portions may include one ormore stops (not shown) which are tabs of a suitable material projectingoutwardly on the end of the curved edge opposite the front panel 334. Asshown in FIG. 11, a hinge 338 rotatably attaches a bottom edge of thefront panel 334 to a bottom edge of the hole 331, with the side portionsextending into the storage cavity 330.

The access bin 332 is configurable between a closed configuration, shownin FIG. 12, and an open configuration shown in FIG. 11. In the closedconfiguration, as shown in FIG. 12, the outer face of the front panel334 is substantially flush with the outer face of the front wall 324,and the side portions 336 project into the storage cavity 330.

To put the access bin 332 into the open configuration, the handle 335 isgripped and the front panel 334 is rotated about the hinge 338 away fromthe storage cavity 330, in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.11. Because the side portions 336, have a curved edge, the side portions336 do not engage the top of the hole 331 in the front wall 324. Stopson the side portions 336 may engage the inner side of the front wall324, thereby preventing the access bin 332 from rotating further.

With the access bin 332 in the open configuration, contents inside thecooler 310 may be accessed without opening the lid 312. Thisconfiguration results in less heat transfer between the interior of thecooler 310 and ambient air. As shown in FIG. 12, this configuration alsoallows access to the storage cavity 330 of the cooler 310 even whenitems are stacked on top of the cooler 310, such as another cooler 310.For example, a cooler 310, may be used to store drinks while anothercooler, such as the cooler 310, may be placed on top of the cooler 310and used to store food.

Variations of the cooler 310 are possible. For instance, feet (notshown) or other structures may be included on the bottom of a cooler 310to prevent an upper cooler 310 of a stacked cooler combination, as shownin FIG. 12, from sliding relative to the lower cooler 310, perhaps byengaging the drink holders 318. In addition, while the drawings show theaccess bin 332 on the front side of the cooler, a similar access bin maybe incorporated into one or more of the other sides of the cooler 310,such as the sides 332, the back, or the lid 312.

FIG. 13 shows a cooler 410 in accordance with an embodiment. Like thecooler 10, the cooler 410 may include a lid 412 and a body 414. As shownin FIG. 10, the lid 412 may include common features such as cup holders418. The body 414 may be formed similarly to the body 14 by having sidewalls 422, a front wall 424, a rear wall (not shown) and a bottom (notshown) all connected together to form a storage cavity (not shown, butsimilar to the storage cavity 330). In an embodiment, the front wall 424includes a rectangular hole 431.

The cooler 410 also includes an access panel 434 which may be arectangular piece of insulating material enclosed by plastic and havinga size and shape approximately equal to the size and shape of the hole431 of the front wall 424. In an embodiment, the front panel 434 has ahandle 435, which may be recessed in the front panel 434, and whichprovides a grip to pull the access bin 432, as further described below.The handle 434 may be provided as shown, or may be one or more knobs,tabs, or other structures that may serve the function of the handle 434.As shown in FIG. 13, a hinge 438 rotatably connects the lower edge ofthe access panel 434 to the lower edge of the hole 431.

As shown in FIG. 13, the cooler 410 may have a membrane located on theinterior side of the front panel 424 and covering the hole 431. Themembrane 436 may be a sheet of a flexible material, such as rubber, andinclude a plurality of slits forming a star-shaped pattern.

The access panel 434 is configurable between an open configuration,shown in FIG. 13, and a closed configuration, shown in FIG. 14. In theclosed configuration, the access panel 434 is located inside the hole431, with the outer surface of the access panel 434 approximately flushwith the outer surface of the front wall 424. The front wall 424 and theaccess panel 434 may include a structure for retaining the access panel434 in the open configuration. For example, the access panel may have aridge (not shown), on its upper edge configured to sit in a groove (notshown) of the upper edge of the hole 431. Other structures, fasteners,or other mechanisms may also be used.

To put the access panel 434 in the open configuration, the handle 435 isgripped and the access panel 434 is rotated outwardly about the hinge438 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 11. Similarly, to putthe access panel 434 in the closed configuration, the access panel 434is rotated in the opposite direction about the hinge 438 until the outersurface of the access panel 434 is approximately flush with the outersurface of the front wall 424.

To access an item inside the cooler 410 when the cooler 410 is in theopen configuration, a user simply reaches through the membrane 436,grasps a desired item, such as a drink, and pulls the item out throughthe membrane 436, through the hole 431. The slots in the membrane 438allow portions of the membrane 438 to bend thereby allowing objects topass through the membrane 438. When an object is not being passedthrough the membrane 438, the membrane 438 is substantially planar, asshown in FIG. 13, thereby preventing heat exchange between air insidethe cooler 410 and ambient air.

As shown in FIG. 14, as with the cooler 310, items stored in the cooler410 are accessible even when an item is stacked on the lid 412.Moreover, variations possible with the cooler 310, such as the locationof the access panel 434, are also possible with the cooler 410.

All of the coolers 10, 110, 210, 310, 410 may have additional features,many of which may be common to coolers. For example, any of the coolers10, 110, 210 may include additional features, such as fasteners tosecure the lids 12, 112, 212 to the bodies 14, 114, 214, respectively.As another example, while much of the above description refers tohard-sided coolers, the above coolers 10, 110, 210 may be made to havesoft sides. Also, features of one of the coolers 10, 110, 210 may beused with the others.

Other variations are within the spirit of the present invention. Thus,while the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative constructions, a certain illustrated embodiment thereof isshown in the drawings and has been described above in detail. It shouldbe understood, however, that there is no intention to limit theinvention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary,the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions,and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, asdefined in the appended claims.

All references, including publications, patent applications, andpatents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the sameextent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicatedto be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entiretyherein.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the invention (especially in the context of thefollowing claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and theplural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted bycontext. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing”are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, butnot limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. The term “connected” is to beconstrued as partly or wholly contained within, attached to, or joinedtogether, even if there is something intervening. Recitation of rangesof values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method ofreferring individually to each separate value falling within the range,unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value isincorporated into the specification as if it were individually recitedherein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitableorder unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearlycontradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplarylanguage (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to betterilluminate embodiments of the invention and does not pose a limitationon the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language inthe specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimedelement as essential to the practice of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, includingthe best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention.Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. Theinventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations asappropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practicedotherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, thisinvention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subjectmatter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicablelaw. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in allpossible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unlessotherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

1. A cooler, comprising: a body; a lid attached to the body; and amechanism for opening the lid relative to the body, the mechanism havinga pedal, the application of force to which causes the lid to moverelative to the body.
 2. The cooler of claim 1, wherein the lid ishinged to the body at a hinge, and wherein application of the forcecauses the lid to rotate about the hinge.
 3. The cooler of claim 2,further comprising a linkage between the pedal and the lid, the linkagebeing configured to translate downward movement of the pedal to upward,rotational movement of the lid about the hinge.
 4. The cooler of claim3, wherein the body comprises an insulated container with an inner wall,an outer wall, and insulation sandwiched between the inner and outerwalls, and wherein the pedal is mounted on a front of the body, and theinsulation comprises a channel along a bottom side of body and extendingup a back of the body, with the linkage mounted in the channel.
 5. Thecooler of claim 1, further comprising a linkage between the pedal andthe lid, the linkage being configured to translate downward movement ofthe pedal to upward, opening movement of the lid.
 6. The cooler of claim5, wherein the body comprises an insulated container with an inner wall,an outer wall, and insulation sandwiched between the inner and outerwalls, and wherein the pedal is mounted on a front of the body, and theinsulation comprises a channel along a bottom side of body and extendingup a back of the body, with the linkage mounted in the channel.
 7. Acooler, comprising: an insulated body defining an exterior surface andan interior; a lid for providing selective access to the interior; and adry erase board mounted to at least one of the exterior surface and thelid.
 8. The cooler of claim 7, wherein the exterior surface comprises arecess, and wherein the dry erase board is mounted in the recess.
 9. Thecooler of claim 8, wherein the recess comprises a depth approximatelyequal to the thickness of the dry erase board, permitting the exteriorsurface to transition smoothly to an outer surface of the dry eraseboard.
 10. The cooler of claim 7, wherein the dry erase board is mountedon a front of the body.
 11. A cooler, comprising: a body having aplurality of sides and defining an interior with an opening; a lid forselectively fitting over the opening; a compartment inside at least oneof the sides; and a door configurable from an open configuration,wherein the compartment is accessible from an outside of the body, to aclosed configuration, wherein the compartment is closed.
 12. The coolerof claim 11, wherein at least on of the sides includes slots, andwherein the door is slidingly mounted in the slots.
 13. The cooler ofclaim 11, wherein the opening is at the top of the body.
 14. A cooler,comprising: a body having a plurality of sides and a first opening at atop; a lid for selectively fitting over the first opening; a secondopening in at least one of the plurality of sides; and a panelconfigured to selectively cover the second opening.
 15. The cooler ofclaim 14, wherein the panel is rotatably connected to an edge of thesecond opening.
 16. The cooler of claim 15, wherein the panel isrotatably connected to a bottom edge of the second opening, and furthercomprising a pair of side portions extending substantiallyperpendicularly rearward into the body from the ends of the front panel.17. The cooler of claim 16, wherein the side portions are semicircularlyshaped with a curved edge oriented upwards.
 18. The cooler of claim 15,further comprising a membrane located on the interior side of the paneland covering the second opening, the membrane comprising slits forallowing an object to pass through the membrane.
 19. The cooler of claim14, further comprising a membrane located on the interior side of thepanel and covering the second opening, the membrane comprising slits forallowing an object to pass through the membrane.